thoughts about learning…and other matters

Month: June 2018

“Who am I to tell a student you can’t be in honors or AP?” said a guidance counselor at New Mission High School (a charter school in Boston) in a fascinating WGBH report. The gist of the report, titled “The… Read More ›

Happy Tau Day! Argh, I was supposed to post this yesterday, of course. If you don’t know what tau (τ) is, I could just tell you that it’s C/r, which is approximately 6.28, hence 6/28 is Tau Day. But that… Read More ›

For the second year in a row, Barbara and I went to Cinquecento for our anniversary dinner. The high standards of food and service remain (even with a clearly inexperienced server). But I should have checked the review I wrote… Read More ›

Cliché Central calling: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Yes, it’s a cliché, but it makes a point. Over the last couple of weeks, people kept asking me how I felt (not my favorite question,… Read More ›

Just completed the second week of Weston High School’s June Academy, in which I taught a course on Egyptian Hieroglyphics. In the photo below you can see two posters that showcase some of the students’ work, including carefully drawn name… Read More ›

This certainly sounds like an exciting exhibit! Here’s a brief description: Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth explores Tolkien’s amazing legacy from his genius as an artist, poet, linguist, and author to his academic career and private life. The exhibition takes you on… Read More ›

Oddly, I had never read James Gunn’s work of literary criticism, titled Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction, before this week. I say “oddly” because Asimov had absolutely been one of my favorite science fiction authors ever since I was,… Read More ›

“Five languages in five days” is the name of the four-day course I have just finished teaching. Yes, you heard me: despite the name, it’s a four-day course. So which is it, five days or four? Let’s see what Lewis… Read More ›

While clearing out my personal belongings from my office and my classroom (it’s amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in 21 years) I came across a copy of The Scarlet Letter that some miscreant had abandoned in our office. (That’s the… Read More ›